pennyroyal
/pɛ̝nɪˈɹɔɪ̯əl/ noun, proper noun
Forms pennyroyals penny royal
- noun Mentha pulegium, a plant of the mint family, formerly much used in various medicinal treatments and as a flea repellent.
- noun (music, obsolete) A traditional old well-known song, especially a spiritual folksong.
- proper noun A locality in the Shire of Colac Otway and the Surf Coast Shire, south western Victoria, Australia
Synonyms
European pennyroyal pennyrile pudding grass mosquito plant squaw mint Mentha pulegium American pennyroyal Hedeoma pulegioides
Etymology
Apparently an alteration (after penny) of Anglo-Norman puliol royal, from Latin pūlegium.
Webster’s 1913
- noun An aromatic herb (Mentha Pulegium) of Europe; also, a North American plant (Hedeoma pulegioides) resembling it in flavor. Bastard pennyroyal (Bot.) See Blue curls, under Blue.
Etymology [A corruption of OE. puliall royal. OE. puliall is ultimately derived fr. L. puleium, or pulegium regium (so called as being good against fleas), fr. pulex a flea; and royal is a translation of L. regium, in puleium regium.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “pennyroyal”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details